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Expect the camera system in the iPhone 18 Pro to be extremely minimal.
Apple is planning to have a punch-hole camera in the iPhone 18 Pro line, with a leaker saying the smaller aperture will still be able to handle Face ID.
The iPhone 18 Pro line is anticipated to revolutionize how the iPhone handles cameras in the display. The change will almost certainly minimize the currently distracting element of the iPhone display, but it will be an engineering challenge for the company and the supply chain.
In a Weibo post on Thursday, serial leaker “Digital Chat Station” discusses the displays of the iPhone 18 Pro series. They describe it as having “two new screens,” followed by a list of specifications that seems quite familiar.
The important element mentioned by Digital Chat Station is that the displays will have a “HIAA (Hole in Active Area) single-hole design,” and will use “under-screen processing” for Face ID. They add that the technology has become “more radical.”
The leak doesn’t really offer that much new to the situation, in part because Digital Chat Station has repeatedly posted about the under-screen camera tech.
At the end of May, they posted about the use of a punch hole screen that will handle the usual front-facing camera. However, Face ID would be repositioned and made to work underneath the display, making it practically invisible to users.
The topic is a favorite of the leaker, who also posted on May 15 in relation to it being used on the iPhone Fold. The May 5 version of the post indicated that only the Pro models will gain an under-display Face ID system, while the non-Pro models will have the punch-hole camera.
The idea of under-screen Face ID has also been raised many times in the past, including a post from late 2023 saying it would arrive on the iPhone 18 at the earliest.
Otherwise normal
The rest of the details provided by the leaker are not as exciting.
The leaker says the iPhone 18 Pro will have a “6.27-inch 1.5K LTPO” screen,” with the Pro Max using a 6.86-inch version. These sizes may be familiar to observers, as rumors for the iPhone 17 range have put the Pro and Pro Max at 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches.
The 1.5K of each refers to a display that is 1.5 times the resolution of a 1080p screen. This is the right ballpark when discussing iPhone screen resolutions in general, so it seems Apple won’t suddenly be producing a 4K screen for users.
The mention of LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) is also a reference to the screen’s construction. An energy-saving approach that is already in use in the iPhone 16 Pro models, but could be improved upon in future models.
Digital Chat Station does have a reasonable track record when it comes to rumors, and has managed to secure a fairly sizable following on social media. However, the amount of information they provide may not necessarily be that significant, depending on the claim.
